Bunnell holds off New Fairfield in SWC quarterfinal

Doug Bonjour

Updated 12:33 am, Sunday, March 2, 2014

STRATFORD -- Bunnell's boys basketball team was forced out of its element on Saturday, away from its high-flying, up-tempo style offense.

The Bulldogs were instead bogged down in a grind-it-out, clock-eating pace by their opponent. The style had them flustered, especially during a season-low, five-point second quarter.

As much as the second-seeded Bulldogs tried, they never got to run. But they didn't let a little uneasiness stop them completely.

Fueled by 13 second-half points by point guard Ryan Pittman, defending champion Bunnell held off No. 7 New Fairfield 48-41 in the SWC quarterfinals.

"Our team isn't really used to playing when teams hold the ball. We like to get out and push it," said Pittman, who helped snap a trio of ties in the second half. "Coach told us this was going to happen."

The junior swished a floater in the paint early in the fourth quarter to snap an 8-0 New Fairfield run and put the Bulldogs in the lead for good, 36-34. In the process, the Bulldogs advanced to Tuesday's semifinals against No. 3 Weston (14-7) at Newtown.

"Ryan is our guy with the ball," coach Pat Yerina said. "He's tough. He made some shots and sticks with it."

Pittman finished with 17 points and swingman Issac Vann contributed 16 as the Bulldogs fended off the upset bid despite a season-low point total.

They had scored at least 60 points in 17 of their 20 regular-season games, but the Rebels' flex offense forced them to stay patient and slow it down.

The Rebels trailed by nine points early and six at halftime before knotting it 22-22 in the third quarter.

"We just wanted to make them defend for long possessions," New Fairfield coach Joel Pardalis said. "Make it so they had to play at our pace. I thought for the most part, we did a pretty good job of that."

Senior guard Eric Martinez sparked New Fairfield with four 3-pointers and 14 points after halftime. Martinez and guard Anthony Cammorota (14 points) connected on back-to-back treys early in the third to tie it, 34-34. The Rebels didn't get any closer, however.

Bunnell turned its defense into offense and answered with an 11-2 run to collect its sixth win in the last seven games.

"They run their flex, and they run it well," Yerina said of New Fairfield. "Last time we played them (a 74-66 Bunnell win on Jan. 31) we were a little bit off on our defense of it. I thought this time we did a much better job watching the back doors, closing out a little bit."

Bunnell was relieved to have closed it out, especially after being limited to only five points in the second quarter. Next up for the Bulldogs is Weston for the second time this season. They crushed the Trojans 79-49 on Feb. 10.

"Coach always tells us, `the first one is the hardest one,'" said Vann, who also had nine rebounds and five blocks. "Now we've got this one out of the way."